The present invention relates to a device, hereafter apparatus, for mounting a retaining element, hereafter fastener, to a system to affix or clamping a clamp, a collar or a compression ring, to the application of said device or system to mount, clamp or compress clamps, collars, clamping rings or compression rings, and also to a method for mounting a mechanical fastener in controlled and monitored manner.
As regards manufacturers"" warranties for instance according to ISO 9000, ISO 9001, ISO 9002 etc., and other standards, increasing significance is being attached to quality control, quality assurance, and to monitoring production and assembly procedures.
In particular it matters in machine construction and automotive engineering that, during assembly, any component shall meet certain quality standards both with respect to material quality and to mounting the parts. Additionally however to materials data, it is also important that the assembly procedure can be checked and understood any time, even subsequently, especially when damages or accidents arise, so that any damaging parts or defective assemblies may be ascertained in order to determine whether such were the cause of the damage or accident.
Materials data already have been long recorded, for instance production data, so-called batch data or charge data, or production units, also by reference to quality logs, protocols and the like.
On the other hand assembly data often is lacking, especially regarding several components which are held together, mounted or are mutually joined by mechanical fastener such as clamps, collars, clamping rings.
Accordingly it is one objective of the present invention to create both an apparatus and a method to control, or to monitor and as appropriate to record assembly and quality control especially relating to production and assembling operations implemented by mechanical fasteners.
The goal of the invention is resolved by its apparatus defined in claim 1, by its system defined in claim 10, and by a method defined in claim 16.
It is proposed that the apparatus of the invention to mount a mechanical fastener on one hand comprises first elements to set, limit and/or measure a path or a length or a distance covered or overcome when mounting the fastener and/or ascertainable at the fastener, also second elements to set, limit and/or measure at least one force component at the fastener, where said force component builds up, when the path is covered or is overcome, at the fastener or by the fastener.
A further embodiment variation comprises at least one drive and also at least one assembling device connected to said drive to mount the fastener, the first elements to set, limit and/or measure being connected to the drive and/or the assembling device in such a way that a path or a distance shall be covered or overcome at the fastener during assembling, and/or the drive shall be interrupted, when the fastener measures or has detected a specified length of distance.
The invention also provides that the second elements to set, limit and/or measure a force component shall be connected in such manner with the assembling device and/or the fastener that at least one fastening force or restoration force shall be measured at the fastener during the mounting phase.
Moreover the second elements setting, limiting and/or measuring at least one force component shall be so linked to the assembling device and/or the fastener that at least one fastening force or restoring force shall be measured at the fastener during the mounting phase.
Again the invention proposes a setpoint element to control and monitor the first elements for the controlled implementation of the assembling procedure, also another set point element in order to limit to a maximum value the force component building up during assembling. Also setpoint-value/actual-value comparators are used in order, on one hand to compare the setpoint value transmitted to said first elements with the corresponding values measured at the fastener for the purpose of comparing the effective force component covered or overcome, length or distance measured at the assembling device upon termination of assembly, with the corresponding setpoint value.
On one hand the assembling is controlled and monitored by means of setpoints (or setpoint values) received in a control, measurement and test unit, and on the other hand the actual values ascertained, i.e. measured during or after assembling at the assembling device are compared with the corresponding setpoint values and, in case of a differential between the actual and the setpoint values, allowance made for given tolerances, such differentials are made noticeable by optical or acoustical signals using appropriate implements.
Further preferred embodiment variations of the device of the invention are stated in the dependent claims.
The invention furthermore proposes a system comprising the apparatus of the invention to affix or compress a clamp, collar or a compressing ring. The system of the invention is especially well suited to mount, clamp, or compress clamps, collars, clamping or compression rings for the purpose of making hose and pipe connections, for instance when hooking up hoses and pipes illustratively to a hook-up nipple, when mounting protective bellows and the like and also to mount or affix pipes, cables, hoses in motors, machines etc.
The invention moreover proposes a method to mount, in controlled and monitored manner, a mechanical fastener, where, when mounting or assembling the fastener a previously defined assembling path is covered or overcome and/or assembling is terminated if a pre-defined length or distance has been measured at the fastener. The fastener also measures a force component building up during assembling.
Upon completion of assembling, both the effective path or distance covered and the effective force component built up during assembling are measured and the test values are compared with corresponding setpoint values, allowance being made for given tolerances, so that in case of non-agreement of the actual and setpoint values the procedure shall be displayed as having been unsuccessful.
Preferably both the setpoint values and the actual values are set and detected resp. in a control, measurement and test unit controlling the assembling on one hand and the setpoint-value/actual-value comparison on the other, and finally and preferably memories are provided in the system or coupled to it which store both the actual and the setpoint values for the particular assembly procedure in order to have the capability to check assembling or complement it at a later time.